Manually driven rotatable disc device and stand combination



Aug. 25, 1964 M. J. RUDERIAN 3,145,994

MANUALLY DRIVEN ROTATABLE DISC DEVICE AND STAND COMBINATION Filed Jan.4, 1963 INVENTOR. F 2 MAX J. RUDRIAN ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,145,994 MANU ALLY DRIVEN ROTATABLE DISC DEVICEAND STAND COMBINATION Max J. Ruderian, 631 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica,Calif. Filed Jan. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 249,446 3 Claims. (Cl. 273142) Thisinvention relates generally to amusement devices and more particularlyto a novel combination toy and stand designed so that a given toy may besupported in a position to be rotated and observed by a group ofpersons. p

In my co-pending application Serial No. 243,515, filed December 10,1962, and entitled Power Toy, there is disclosed a manually operabledrive mechanism for rotating a disc having a plurality of symbolsthereon. A stationary marker in the form of an arrow is provided so thatwhen the disc comes to rest, the arrow will designate one of themarkings. By this arrangement, several different types of games may beplayed.

As also shown in the above-mentioned co-pending application, the powertoy includes a stand structure forming part of the driving mechanism sothat the toy may be placed on a flat surface and the disc caused to spinand the same observed by a group of persons as the disc comes to rest.

The instant invention constitutes an improvement over the teachings ofmy co-pending patent application wherein the stand structure is modifiedto provide a more stable support and render operation of the toy simplerthan in the co-pending case.

According y, it is a primary object of this invention to provide animproved combination toy and stand wherein a stable support is providedand yet there is substantially very little increase in manufacturingcost of the toy.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a combination stand andpower toy incorporating a spinning disc wherein the power toy may besupported on a flat surface by itself by means of the stand while thedisc is spun so that a group of persons may readily observe the face ofthe disc as it is spinning.

Briefly, these and other objects and advantages of this invention areattained by providing a power toy mechanism similar to that described inmy above co-pending patent application. In one embodiment of saidapplication, there is provided a transparent housing for the discstructure which is secured to the power drive mechanism. In accordancewith the instant invention, this housing includes an extending portionin the form of a flat stamping terminating in a straight edge portionadapted to engage a floor or table surface. This stamping includes atleast one central opening adapted to receive an elongated member in theform of a pencil or the like so that the member will extend normallyfrom the plane of the stamping and provide a three-point support for thepower toy. The arrangement is such that the power operating rackmechanism reciprocates from the top of the power toy when it is standingon a floor or table surface so that it may readily be depressed with onehand and the disc member properly spun. By providing the simple openingin the stamping, any conventional elongated member readily availablesuch as a pencil may be used so that there is very little increasedmanufacturing expense for the stand structure itself.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by now referring toa preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view showing the appearance of thecombination top and stand when positioned on a flat surface; and

3,145,994 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 FIGURE 2 is a side elevational viewthereof taken generally in the direction of the arrows 22 of FIGURE 1Referring first to FIGURE 1, the combination stand and power toyincludes a housing 10 preferably transparent within which there isrotatably mounted a disc 11 arranged to be driven by a drive mechanism12. Towards this end, there is provided an opening rack member 13adapted to reciprocate into and out of the mechanism 12 to rotate thedisc 11 as described in detail in my co-pending patent applicationmentioned heretofore.

The housing 10 includes an arrow 14 on its top surface arranged in aposition juxtaposed the periphery of the disc 11 so that when the disc11 is rotated and comes to rest, the arrow 14 will designate one of thesymbols on the face of the disc.

It will be appreciated that the device as described thus far may be heldin one hand and the rack member 13 reciprocated with a persons thumb.However, in the event a group of persons wish to play the game, it wouldbe desirable to be able to position the power toy on a flat surface andsimply spin the disc and then all persons may readily view the same.Towards this end and in accordance with the present invention, thehousing 10 includes a flat extending stamped portion 15 terminating in aflat lower straight edge 16. The outer ends of the stamping 15 includeupwardly and inwardly turned portions 17 and 18 defining hooks. Thesehooks will enable the device to be suspended if desired such as from thebelt stay of a persons clothing so that he can carry the toy about.

The stamping 15 also includes a plurality of central openings such asindicated at 19, 20, and 21. These openings are arranged to receiveelongated members such as a pencil 22 so that the pencil will extendnormally from the plane of the stamping 15 and provide a stable supportfor the structure.

The foregoing arrangement can better be appreciated by referring toFIGURE 2 wherein it will be noted that the far end of the pencil 22engages a flat surface or floor as at 23.

In operation, the toy may be supported by inserting a member such as thepencil 22 in one of the openings of suitable diameter and the devicestood on a flat surface as shown. The operator need then simply depressthe operating rack member 13 to spin the disc 11 and a group of personssitting about the table may observe the face of the disc as it isopening.

After any one of a number of games have been played, the person mayremove the pencil 22 and then simply suspend the toy from his belt stayor any other convenient suspending means to carry the same about. Sincethe pencil has been removed, the bulkiness which conventionally resultsfrom table stands is avoided when the device is not actually beingsupported by the stand.

From the foregoing description, it will thus be evident that the presentinvention has provided a greatly improved combination toy and stand.While the bottom end of the stand has been described as a straight edge,it will be evident to those skilled in the art that an equivalent stablesupport could be provided by simply having two spaced points of thestraight edge engaging the floor. The invention is therefore not to bethought of as limited to the exact embodiment set forth merely forillustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

l. A power toy and stand combination comprising: a manually operabledrive mechanism; disc means rotatably mounted to said drive mechanism;symbol means on said disc means stationary pointer means juxtaposed theperiphery of said disc means for designating one of said symbol meanswhen said disc means comes to rest; and a stationary housing for saiddisc means secured to said drive mechanism and including a fiatextending portion terminating in a straight edge for engaging a floor,said flat extending portion having at least one opening extendingtherethrough adapted to receive an elongated member in a directionnormal to its plane to provide a stand for said power toy.

2. The combination of claim 1, in which said manually operable drivemechanism includes an operating rack member adapted to be manuallyreciprocated to rotate said disc means, said rack member extendingupwardly when said power toy is held by said stand so that a group ofpersons may observe the face of said disc means when it is spinning.

3. The combination of claim 2, in which the outer 4. ends of said flatportion curve upwardly and inwardly to define hook means to enablesuspension of said toy, said flat portion including additional openingsof different diameters to receive different elongated members ofsubstantially corresponding diameters.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A POWER TOY AND STAND COMBINATION COMPRISING: A MANUALLY OPERABLEDRIVE MECHANISM; DISC MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED TO SAID DRIVE MECHANISM;SYMBOL MEANS ON SAID DISC MEANS; STATIONARY POINTER MEANS JUXTAPOSED THEPERIPHERY OF SAID DISC MEANS FOR DESIGNATING ONE OF SAID SYMBOL MEANSWHEN SAID DISC MEANS COMES TO REST; AND A STATIONARY HOUSING FOR SAIDDISC MEANS SECURED TO SAID DRIVE MECHANISM AND INCLUDING A FLATEXTENDING PORTION TERMINATING IN A STRAIGHT EDGE FOR ENGAGING A FLOOR,SAID FLAT EXTENDING PORTION HAVING AT LEAST ONE OPENING EXTENDINGTHERETHROUGH ADAPTED TO RECEIVE AN ELONGATED MEMBER IN A DIRECTIONNORMAL TO ITS PLANE TO PROVIDE A STAND FOR SAID POWER TOY.